


Sonorus Charm

by autumnborn



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Hogwarts AU, I suck at writing, M/M, Slow Updates, and summaries too, im bad at tagging, jisung and sungwoon are graduates already, maknae line are all fourth years, probably even writing but whatever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-12 13:26:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13548273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnborn/pseuds/autumnborn
Summary: Ravenclaw Kuanlin found out Jihoon's, one of Slytherin's popular students, secret and he used that as an advantage to get closer to him.





	1. At First Sight

Jihoon’s face was stuffed due to the amount of muffins he tried to fit in his mouth when Kuanlin had his first “private” encounter with him. They do have classes together, but that night was different from any day ignoring each other’s existence in class, which in Kuanlin’s opinion was normal as they belong to different houses. Jihoon looked like a deer caught in the headlights sneaking out of one of the dingiest hallways in Hogwarts late at night looking like he just had been into a food fight judging by the mess on his robes. Kuanlin concluded that the latter sneaked in the kitchen and tried to use the dingy corridor to escape quietly, but to his misfortune, accidentally bumped into him who was on his way back to the Ravenclaw tower using a shortcut he found while he was serving his detention a week prior. (He got detention from correcting his professor as to how muggles use blenders.)

Students were supposed to be in their Houses before 11PM so Jihoon doesn’t have any excuse to cover up why he looks sated while his robes were crinkled and messy with what looks like the doughnut glaze from that night’s dinner.

“Shouldn’t you be in your House already?” Kuanlin, coming from a family of prefects and head boys, unconsciously uttered in monotone, his eyes not leaving the stain left on Jihoon’s mouth.

“Well, shouldn’t you be in yours too?” Jihoon spat back, obviously defensive.

“I had detention, did some cleaning in the trophy room. I have an excuse, how about you?”

Jihoon’s eyes widened. Even with him trying to conceal his panic, Kuanlin can easily see he was having an internal breakdown. It’s funny how he could tell, he never talked to him before but he knew who he was since Jihoon plays for the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Beater. Maybe he was just naturally observant.

Kuanlin wanted to delve in more into the topic but he was tired and Jihoon looks scared so he opted to let the situation slide and flee to his room to sleep. He sighed and slowly approached Jihoon, not to corner him, but because the shortcut was through his way. Jihoon, however, presumed he was going to get dragged to a teacher’s office so he waited for a perfect timing to run. Kuanlin was taking his time to walk, not even sparing a single glance at Jihoon, but when they were only a few meters apart, Jihoon took the opportunity and used his athletic legs to dash off.

Contrary to what Jihoon thought, Kuanlin really didn’t intend to tell anyone but he found it very cute how the Slytherin snuck out his House just to get more food except…

“Please clean up your face and robes before you run. You might not want to get caught by someone else, right?” He exclaimed, not too loud to wake the ghosts and the paintings but loud enough for Jihoon to hear and make him stop in his tracks to quickly wipe his face.

“Don’t tell anyone!”

“I won’t.”

“And one more thing!”

Kuanlin turned back to look at Jihoon.

“What’s your name?”

“Lai Kuanlin.”

“Oh, I’m Jihoon!”

“I know.”

“Oh, okay! Thank you Kuanlin!” Jihoon gave him a wide smile then turned on his heel to leave.

Without him realizing, Kuanlin was smiling just as bright as Jihoon while watching the latter disappear to one of the corridors leading to the Slytherin tower. Definitely cute.

 

-

 

Considering that they were both 4th years, it was questionable how Kuanlin rarely see Jihoon after that night. Sure, they were from different houses, but if he remembers correctly, Slytherins and Ravenclaws take the same Potions class every Wednesday and Thursday. Kuanlin doesn’t really pay much attention to the Slytherin side, but after that night, he takes glances to where the Slytherins are in hopes to greet Jihoon, and it was weird that he hasn’t seen the Slytherin boy since then. It was also impossible that Professor Heechul excuses his student to miss his class twice in a row already, because Slytherins are expected to have an impressive attendance record in Potions. He was not the type to favor his students above the others when it comes to class performance either. Kuanlin was sure Jihoon attends every session or Professor Heechul would’ve made a fuss already if he doesn’t. He was just good at hiding himself among his bulky classmates.

His best friend, a Hufflepuff named Yoo Seonho, elbowed him when he saw Kuanlin craning his neck to scan the Great Hall for the hundredth time that morning during breakfast. “You’d really break your neck if you don’t stop doing that.”

“And you’d be really kicked out of your house if they see you eating on the Ravenclaw table again. Didn’t Sungjae-hyung warn you about this already?” He responded as he continues to search for someone in the crowd, specifically at the Slytherin table.

“Nah, I eat everywhere I want. But seriously, who are you looking for? You’ve been like that since a week ago and I’m already convinced your neck elongated quite a bit.”

“Park Jihoon.”

“Huh?”

“I’m looking for Park Jihoon.”

Seonho choked on his mushroom soup. “Park Jihoon? 4th year, Slytherin Beater?”

“Yeah, Park Jihoon. The small one, with chubby cheeks and very pretty eyes.”

“Woah, bro, that’s some impressive way to describe someone right there!”

“What do you mean? That’s exactly how he is.”

“Wait, you’re serious?” Seonho asked, his mouth agape. “I thought you were just exaggerating.”

Kuanlin looked at him, his brows knitted together in confusion. “What do you mean? You don’t find him pretty?”

“I do! I mean, everyone does, but it’s just quite uncommon of you to honestly describe someone in a positive way. I didn’t even know you were friends with him. Aren’t all his friends from Slytherin?”

“We’re not friends.” Kuanlin shook his head with a disappointed look, finally giving up and putting his attention back to his breakfast platter. “Well, maybe not yet.”

“Oh wow, you sound like you’re interested in him.” Seonho commented, his voice laced with a hint of malice. Kuanlin scoffed in response.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Seonho wanted to tease his friend some more, if only the subject of his teasing didn’t arrive with his gang. His bread dropped along with his jaw when the said Slytherin smiled at something one of his friends said, looking more radiant than he had always been, and as if there were lights emitting from his back to emphasize his entrance. He knew Jihoon; everyone in Hogwarts know who Park Jihoon is, but he never really noticed how pretty he was because he dislikes Slytherins and had decided to ignore their presence even before the Sorting Hat sorted him into Hufflepuff.

Seonho excitedly nudged Kuanlin who dropped his spoon because of the sudden impact. “What do you want now?” he asked, annoyed.

Seonho got off his “Jihoon trance” because of Kuanlin’s tone and gave his best friend one huge, malicious smirk. “Don’t be so cranky, you’d thank me for this later.”

“The only time I was thankful of you was when you returned my History of Magic book on – “

“It’s Park Jihoon!”

Kuanlin felt his blood turn cold as his body went rigid. He could feel everyone’s eyes on their table, on them rather, when Seonho suddenly shouted so loud that he thought Seonho did the Sonorus charm on himself. He couldn’t hear anyone or anything else, except the ringing of Seonho’s voice calling out Park Jihoon’s name.

He slowly turned to where Seonho was looking and true enough, there he was, Park Jihoon who looked like he was scandalized, yet still so beautiful in his eyes.

Kuanlin would be lying if he wasn’t hurt when he saw how Jihoon flinched when he noticed he was there with Seonho. The Slytherin looked like he wanted to run, to which he did, gaining confusion from his friends, who in the end still followed him outside without grabbing anything from their breakfast feast. Kuanlin swore he was tempted to shove a spoon in Seonho’s mouth until he chokes but he didn’t because everyone in the Great Hall were still looking at them.

A few seconds felt like hours to Kuanlin when everyone kept their attention on them for the commotion Seonho caused. Thankfully, the students decided to go back to eating before first period starts and that’s when Kuanlin let out his breath that he didn’t notice he had been holding since Jihoon entered the Great Hall.

“What the hell did you do?” Kuanlin said, gritting his teeth in annoyance when he turned to face Seonho only to find his best friend peacefully dipping his baguette in his pumpkin soup.

Seonho shrugged. “Nothing. I swear, I didn’t intend to create a scene. I guess I got excited.”

“Excited about what?!”

“Of my little – okay, maybe not little – friend having a crush on the most talked about Beater.”

Kuanlin was dumbfounded. “Huh? I don’t like him!”

Seonho hums, attention still on his soaked bread but with an annoying smirk plastered on his face that Kuanlin didn’t miss. “Sure, but a friendly advice Kuanlin.”

Kuanlin glared.

“You’re incredibly handsome but denial looks really bad on you.”

Seonho swore not to tease Kuanlin again before classes start because he had to spend the rest of that day trying to survive the quizzes surprisingly thrown at them by their Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes professors. Kuanlin decided to ignore his whole existence and not let him copy his answers, even just a single one, resulting to him scoring only an 8 out of 50.


	2. The Insider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuanlin's effort to chase Jihoon continuously fails and Seonho's loud mouth gave him an idea of what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The importance of Daehwi and Jinyoung's characters will be hinted on this chapter. Expect a lot of Daehwi~ :)

The chilly December wind was not enough reason to stop Kuanlin from waking up at the crack of dawn and throwing on a robe over his pajamas before sprinting down to the Quidditch field. Given that it was early morning, the Ravenclaw common room was empty, as well as the staircase so Kuanlin tried to be as quiet as possible. Students were not supposed to be out of bed that early, although they were not restricted, but students usually want to sleep in until breakfast except if they have special tasks to accomplish. Kuanlin has his own personal task: to catch Park Jihoon and try to talk to him why he kept avoiding him.

 

It has almost been a month after their encounter and Park Jihoon is still  _ highkey  _ avoiding him. He never got the chance to ask him why because Jihoon always makes sure that he’s always surrounded by his friends when he enters the Great Hall during breakfast and dinner, as well as when they attend their Potions class. His friend are also aware of his scheme, seeing how they are cooperating with him and blocking Jihoon out of Kuanlin’s view, although not entirely successful since Kuanlin is much taller than everyone in his squad and he still manages to see the crown of Jihoon’s head and he’s sure it was intentional as Jihoon’s head hung low, obviously avoiding his gaze. Those gestures start to annoy Kuanlin after a while, but he knows he doesn’t have the right to complain. In the first place, he isn’t friends with any of them anyway. Seonho kept telling him he was starting to look like a creep by following Jihoon around and truthfully, he’s already tired of going out of his way just to talk to the Slytherin boy but end up wasting his effort. He really wants to stop bothering Jihoon if he really doesn’t want to be friends with him, but he was anxious to know why Jihoon avoids him like he did something wrong to him. He swears he never told anyone about what Jihoon did that night, not even his best friend Seonho.

 

“Maybe he really just doesn’t want to be friends with anyone outside Slytherin.” Seonho comments once, tired of him whining about Jihoon running everytime he sees him. “I mean, most, if not all of his friends are Slytherins right?”

 

“That can’t be the case.” He counters confidently.

 

“And what makes you think so?”

 

“Isn’t he friends with Daehwi? And Daehwi is a Ravenclaw like me.”

 

“Daehwi is an exception though.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Everyone knows he’s Bae Jinyoung’s best friend, or boyfriend we are still not sure, but whatever he is, Jihoon is only forced to keep up with him because he’s Jinyoung’s plus one.”

 

Their argument drags on but no matter how much persuasion Seonho does to him, Kuanlin is still convinced that Jihoon is avoiding him for a reason. He also decided to take matters on his own hands seeing how frustrated Seonho is with him already. That conversation, however, enlightened him who ask help from next: his roommate, Lee Daehwi.

 

Lee Daehwi is a Ravenclaw on the same year as he is so Kuanlin can say that they are close, as Daehwi is also a top student like him. They often sit by the fireplace late at night to finish their essays together. They also chat too, but most of it are only within academic topics only and nothing more about their personal life. Anyone attending Hogwarts knows that he’s always with Bae Jinyoung, even more than any Ravenclaws so rumors started circulating that they were dating but he never bothered to confirm it.

 

A few days prior to his and Seonho’s breakfast argument, he heard Seonho and 7th year Ravenclaw Im Youngmin talking about the upcoming Quidditch match that Youngmin was assigned to be the commentator. He found out that the last Quidditch game before students start going home for Christmas break was scheduled two days before the break and Gryffindor will have to face Jihoon’s team. Kuanlin took this as a cue to ask Daehwi about any information regarding Slytherin’s practice schedules as he knows Slytherin will work harder as they already lost to Ravenclaw the match before. Daehwi, aside from being Jinyoung’s best friend, is also Park Woojin’s cousin and both are Slytherin players (Jinyoung is a Seeker and Woojin is a Beater like Jihoon) so there’s no way Daehwi wouldn’t know because he spends most of his free time with their squad.

 

He took his initiative one night, while the two of them were studying together for their Ancient Runes class. Daehwi raises an eyebrow at him when he starts fidgeting, nervous about something so he halts discussing chapter twelve and puts his quill down to wait for Kuanlin to spill what’s on his mind.

 

“Spill it out Kuanlin. We still have a few more chapters to tackle and you’re distracting me. You’re not even listening to me.” Daehwi says, pushing a cup of hot chocolate to him and leans his back on the chair comfortably.

“Well, I just want to ask you something.” His voice is quivering, but he still tries to clearly formulate what he wants to ask Daehwi so he won’t sound like a stalker.

 

“Is it about Jihoon?”

 

Kuanlin almost drops his mug when Daehwi mentions Park Jihoon. He looks at him, bewilderment evident in his eyes while Daehwi looks unfazed. “How did you know?” He clears his throat to make his voice less shaky.

 

“You were too obvious following him around.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, even Jinyoung noticed you lingering everywhere we went. You were too tall not to be noticed, you know.” Daehwi chuckles. “Jinyoung usually doesn’t care about his environment but he noticed you even before anyone did. That’s an accomplishment, I must say.”

 

Kuanlin smiles unconsciously upon hearing how cheerful Daehwi’s voice became while talking about Jinyoung.

 

“But I must say, he’s avoiding you for a reason. And I’m in no position to tell you why.”

 

_ Of course Daehwi knows why.  _ Kuanlin thought, his shoulders drop and he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s why I want to know why! I didn’t even do anything to him and it makes me uneasy that he’s avoiding me as if I’m a plague or something.”

 

“Why are you so bothered?” Daehwi’s question reminds him so much of Seonho when he first found out he was chasing Jihoon, both laced with malice.

 

Kuanlin struggles to find an answer to that so he shrugs instead. “Just because.”

 

“You like him don’t you?”

 

“What? No!”

 

Out of reflex, he stands up. Kuanlin’s voice was so loud that he assumes he startled everyone studying in the common room when he heard faint  _ SHHH! _ s. He immediately apologized loud enough for them to hear and Daehwi looks like he is trying to keep his laughter in while he pulling Kuanlin to sit down.

 

“Oh my God, you’re too obvious!”

 

“I don’t like him! I swear!”He hisses. “You and Seonho are so alike!”

 

Daehwi hums in  _ sarcastic  _ agreement. “That’s what I say most of the time.”

 

Now that caught Kuanlin’s attention. Intrigued, Kuanlin tried to delve in more into the topic but Daehwi raised his hand, a signal of stopping him from asking any further.

 

“Mr. Lai, don’t you dare switch the topic to me.”

 

“But I really don’t like him!” Kuanlin whines. “I don’t know, maybe I do but I’m not sure.”

 

Daehwi stares at him for a while before sighing, realizing he can’t get any other information from the Taiwanese wizard. He grabs his book and starts writing his essay again. “As much as I want to tell you insider’s information, Jihoon is also my friend so I’m sorry.”

 

Kuanlin sighs in defeat, all intention of trying to ask Daehwi forgotten. He really wants to try convincing Daehwi a bit more but when Daehwi starts concentrating, there’s no way he can distract him anymore. He picks up his quill and parchment and follows Daehwi’s suit and focuses on his homework with a heavy heart. His mood is so bad that Daehwi felt it radiating from his skin so the latter sighs loud enough to catch his attention.

 

“Their Quidditch practice starts at 6AM. Dongho-hyung wants them working before breakfast because Woojin and Jihoon always try to skip once they are already full.”

 

Even though surprised that Daehwi read his mind, Kuanlin lunges himself at Daehwi and hugged him so tight that he could crush his petite body in glee, showering him with  _ thank you _ s continuously until the Ravenclaw Head Boy, Hwang Minhyun stepped in to shut him up.

 

-

 

And that’s what brings Kuanlin to the Quidditch field with the cold wind hitting his cheeks which doesn’t mind at all. True to Daehwi’s word, boys wearing green robes with broomsticks in their grasps start coming out to the Quidditch field, one by one kicking into the air. Kuanlin starts counting them and noticed three were missing: Park Jihoon, Park Woojin and Bae Jinyoung.

 

Kang Dongho, Slytherin’s Quidditch captain look enraged when he came out and kicked into the air while the present Slytherin players tried to stay away from him as much as possible. Kuanlin is puzzled; without their two Beaters and their Seeker, how will they practice? Kuanlin goes to sit on one of the benches to wait for them to come out and sees Joo Haknyeon, a Chaser waving at him. He waves in returning and sees him flying towards his direction.

 

“Looking for Park Jihoon again?” Haknyeon asks, halting his broomstick in mid-air but within Kuanlin’s earshot. He nods and notes Haknyeon shaking his head. “I think you should just wait for him in class. He excused himself today because he said he has a stomach ache. Captain didn’t buy it, but you know Jihoon’s very stubborn.”

 

“How about his friends then?”

 

“Oh, Jinyoung and Woojin? They go wherever Jihoon goes so they skipped too.” Even from several meters up in the air, both of them heard Kang Dongho’s angry voice calling Haknyeon over to start practice. Haknyeon gives him one last friendly pat and flies back to the team, scared for his life.

 

-

 

“So tell us, until when do you plan to avoid him?” Jinyoung asks, his eyes concentrated on Kuanlin, taking a pity on the boy who keeps on waiting for Jihoon to come out wearing only a thin layer of robe to protect his body from the cold. “You’d get us kicked out of the team anytime soon Park Jihoon.”

 

“Is that really your reason?” Woojin interrupts him, a playful smirk plastered on his face, eyebrows wiggling in mischief.

 

“Yeah, what else is there?”

 

“Maybe because Daehwi hangs out with him a lot lately?”

 

It’s Jinyoung’s turn to face him in confusion but Woojin didn’t miss the slight finch he did at the mention Daehwi’s name. “So what if they hang out?”

 

Woojin shrugs, stuffing a cookie in his mouth knowing he won’t be able to budge Jinyoung’s wall especially when he’s in a bad mood. “I don’t know but maybe you do.”

 

Jinyoung scoffs. Jihoon ignores both of them and continues hastily changing into his school robes, thinking how the hell Kuanlin knows their schedule at the the same time. Out of reflex, Jihoon turns to both of his friends who are still arguing with a suspicious glare. Both of them feels the weight of his glare and Jinyoung glares back, as if he absorbed his energy.

 

“What?” They growl in unison.

 

“Which of you told him?”

 

“Told him what?”

 

“Our practice schedules! I thought this was a secret so no one can sneak in on us? Isn’t this why we chose early morning and late at night?” Jihoon jolts into the window, pushing Jinyoung out of the view and peeks outside to see Kuanlin getting up, finally giving up on waiting. “There’s a reason why he’s here! Someone told him!”

 

Jinyoung crosses his arms on his chest, annoyed, his Slytherin aura strongly emitting because of the blind accusation. “And you think it’s us? We don’t even talk to him!”

 

“Or maybe Daehwi did! He’s a Ravenclaw and roommates and classmates and friends and I’m sure you both told him so he passed it onto him!”

 

Jihoon suddenly starts to cower under Jinyoung’s scrutinizing glare Woojin sits back, trying to conceal his laughter. He knows that if there’s anything that can push Jinyoung’s button, it’s insulting Daehwi  _ right in front of his salad.  _

 

“Daehwi has more functioning brain cells than you so don’t you dare accuse him like that! He’s not an idiot. Besides, what is it to you if someone finds out? Don’t you love the attention you get when you play Quidditch? I think if it’s someone else, it would’ve been okay, but because it’s your secret  _ crush,  _ you’re acting like a teenage girl.” Jinyoung argues, rolling his eyes and breathing ragged because he spoke too fast without a pause.

 

Jihoon remains silent and watches Jinyoung snatch his bag from the bench without moving an inch. Jinyoung’s footsteps are heavy on his way out the locker room. “Face him yourself and stop dragging everyone in your drama.” Was all he said before he slammed the door behind him. The force made Jihoon flinch.

 

Woojin takes some more cookies from a jar he stores inside his locker and walks towards the door to follow Jinyoung but he didn’t forget to give Jihoon a comforting pat on his head before doing so. “You know that Jinyoung is very hypocrite to lecture you like that when he himself hasn’t confessed to Daehwi yet but his case aside, he’s right. Go face Kuanlin and stop ignoring him. He might get the wrong idea, you know?” Woojin opens the door and waits for Jihoon but the latter didn’t take a single step closer to him. “Okay, I’d be leaving next. I can’t miss breakfast anymore, I missed too many breakfast because of you.”

 

Woojin chuckles and gently closes the door, a huge contrary to what Jinyoung did. Jihoon is still frozen on his spot, his brain telling him to move but none of his muscles cooperates. His mind was filled with questions and he was dumbfounded because his friends never complained until then. Woojin does occasionally, but Jinyoung never did. One thing that he notes is never to insult Daehwi when Jinyoung is around. Jinyoung keeps denying he has feelings for Daehwi, even telling the latter he’s in love with 6th year Hufflepuff Zhou Jieqiong but after seeing how enraged he was at his accusation, Jihoon is sure he does.

 

_ Maybe we are on the same boat,  _ he thought.  _ Maybe we are just too afraid to admit. _

 

Jinyoung didn’t hang out with them that day and stuck with Daehwi on his usual studying schedule during exam weeks. Also, Kang Dongho almost broke their skulls when the Quidditch game was cancelled because their absence caused their Chasers all beaten up by the Bludgers.

 

-

 

“Why aren’t you packing yet?”

 

Kuanlin flinched when someone suddenly spoke while he was doing his homework alone in their bedroom. His roommates were all outside, either hanging out with their friends in the common room or outside enjoying the snow. Christmas break is in two days and students will be going home to their families to celebrate Christmas but the teachers made sure that they don’t get to enjoy the Christmas break too much and gave them a handful of school responsibilities such as essays and additional advanced readings. Kuanlin can still remember how Jihoon’s face contorted in exasperation when Professor Choi gave them extra essays about medieval Egyptian wizardry to be submitted on the exact day of their return.

 

As for Kuanlin, as much as he wants to spend the last two days playing wizard chess with Seonho, he decided that he doesn’t want his homework to disrupt his long-awaited vacation. Even Ravenclaws want some break too.

 

“I won’t be going home.” Kuanlin peaks at Daehwi’s bed, just right in front of his, all neat but he noticed that his luggage is still where it has always been. “I see you haven’t packed yours either.”

 

“I didn’t tell you?” Daehwi looks up, his fingers tapping his chin as if he’s trying to recall something. “That’s weird. I’m sure everyone knows I will be staying here for the holidays after Woojin announced it during dinner last week? Or we’re you not there?”

 

“I skipped dinner once last week to finish some essays so maybe I missed it.” Kuanlin stops writing and put his parchment and quill on his bedside table. He rubs his tired eyes which were tired working since dawn and invites Daehwi to sit on his bed. “Why? I thought you miss your mom already?”

 

“I do, but apparently she doesn’t miss me as much as I miss her.” Daehwi responds with a scoff, sitting and making himself comfortable on Kuanlin’s bed. “She said she’d be busy with my aunt’s wedding so she’d be spending Christmas with her so they can plan together. She invited me to come though, but maybe I haven’t told you yet. I hate that aunt. She’s a muggle, but she’s a  _ witch.  _ So I said no!”

 

Kuanlin chortles at Daehwi’s face trying to imitate how his aunt looks like and if she does look like that, then Kuanlin agrees she’s scary. It felt good, getting to know Daehwi a bit more after years of being classmates and roommates who only talk about school. Kuanlin wasn’t friendly; he loves making friends but he’s bad at approaching people so he waits for them to approach him first. His whole freshman year was so bad, he only had Seonho as a friend because even his roommates think he gives off an intimidating aura that scares people, especially the younger Ravenclaws.

 

Noticing that Kuanlin is spacing out, Daehwi snaps a finger in front of his face to snap him out of his reverie. It works; Kuanlin blinks a few times and looks at him with confused eyes, making him laugh a little because of how lost he looks.

 

“Oh, and they will be staying too.” Daehwi informs him, not mentioning any names but Kuanlin knows exactly who he’s referring to. “And I will be with them a lot as always. The Ravenclaws I’m close with are all going home anyway.”

 

Not wanting to be obvious he’s been stalking Jihoon and his squad, he decides to pretend clueless. “Who?”

 

Daehwi smirk.  _ Crap, he knows I’m lying.  _ “That’s for you to figure out. I just told you in case you want to join us. You’re more than welcome. I heard Seonho will be going home too so you’d have no one to hang out with right?”

 

“I actually prefer it that way.” Kuanlin wiggles his eyebrows at his bedside table where his books are stacked messily and Daehwi laughs, getting exactly what he’s trying to say. “Those assholes really hate seeing us have fun and I want to finish early so I can sleep as much as I’ve stayed up late at night studying the whole term.”

 

“But that’s going to be boring! You should be enjoying Christmas so you should join us. We can do homework together! The more, the merrier!”

 

“I didn’t know Slytherins do their homework?” Kuanlin chuckles.

 

Daehwi laughs. “They do, or they are forced to. Woojin’s mom is going to kill him if he fails school.”

 

Kuanlin’s smile falters faster than it appeared, a wary frown replacing it. “But, don’t you think he’d run away?”

 

Daehwi looks at him, confusion obvious in his eyes. “Jihoon?”

 

“Yeah.” Kuanlin’s shoulder drops at the mention of the name of the person he keeps on chasing yet he couldn’t talk to yet even after several attempts. “It sucks that the Quidditch match was cancelled. I actually talked to Youngmin-hyung to call him out after the match.”

 

“Oh my God, don’t you dare do something like that! He’ll avoid you even more if you do! He hates attention, you should know that.”

 

“He does? With a face like that, he should expect attention though.”

 

Kuanlin didn’t know he had an extra spark in his eyes while talking about Jihoon but Daehwi, being born observant, didn’t miss how Kuanlin’s cautious eyes turned to beautiful crescents while thinking about the Slytherin boy.

 

“You like him that much, don’t you?” Daehwi whispers out of the blue.

 

Kuanlin is taken aback, looking into Daehwi with wide eyes and seeking for any hint of mischief on his face. Kuanlin feels his hands getting cold, at the same time clammy, as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing when he found none. Daehwi is dead serious. He fidgets a bit more, a deafening silence followed as he tries to look everywhere in order not to meet Daehwi’s eyes, mumbling incoherent phrases under his breath, lost of words to dismiss the topic.

 

“You always react that way when I ask you if you like Jihoon.” Daehwi tsked. “Look at me.”

 

Kuanlin’s reflex betrayed him upon hearing Daehwi’s voice, so low and he knows that Daehwi only speaks like that when he’s arguing with someone in any of their classes. His head turns to Daehwi as if Daehwi has the control to his muscles, but he still kept his eyes away, although he was still forced to look at the latter when Daehwi poked his forehead.

 

Another long, dead silence follows.

 

“Do you want to know a secret?”

 

Kuanlin took a few seconds before nodding, unsure of his decision.

 

Daehwi bit his lower lip as if contemplating if he wants to spill his secret to someone else beside his cousin. Kuanlin waits without showing any sign of impatience nor judgement. After a while, he inhales sharply and tries to speak as firm as he can muster. “I like Bae Jinyoung.”

 

A pause. A long pause. A very long pause. Seconds turn into a minute and the eye contact suddenly feels too much for Daehwi so he breaks it by blinking a few times. Kuanlin didn’t flinch nor said anything and his silence made Daehwi realize the weight of his confession.

 

“Why are you not saying anything?!” He whines, hitting Kuanlin’s arm with force to get his full attention. To Daehwi, it was much more embarrassing not getting any reaction at all.

 

“Is there anything to say thought?” Kuanlin empty reaction felt mocking to Daehwi.

“What do you mean? You should be surprised!”

 

Kuanlin cracks a smile. “But everyone knows that already!”

 

“What?!”

 

“Everyone in school knows you like Jinyoung. Even if you tell someone else other than me, they will react the same way as I did.” Kuanlin answers confidently, as if he thinks Daehwi’s question was nothing but stupid. “We know Jinyoung likes you too.”

 

“What? No! Jinyoung likes someone else! Hufflepuff Zhou Jieqiong!” Daehwi knows he shouldn’t be telling Kuanlin Jinyoung’s secret admiration but he is already in panic mode and he needs to say something that will distract him.

 

“He does?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Well then, he lied to you.”

 

Kuanlin smirks, successfully changing the topic. Daehwi is his friend but seeing the blush that was previously only on his cheeks spreading throughout his face, ears and neck was satisfying to watch.  _ Now he knows how it felt,  _ he thought as he chuckles to himself.

 

Daehwi hits him once more, on his other arm this time. “Why are you laughing?! We are just best friends. He likes someone else, okay? We are just friends.” He whispers so low that Kuanlin almost missed it. Daehwi knows he’s telling the truth but he’s confused why he himself thinks he sounds defensive.

 

Kuanlin studies Daehwi a little bit more, the latter has his head hung low, avoiding his gaze and fiddling with the hem of his sweater. “Okay, if that’s what you think it is.” Kuanlin still sounds unconvinced, even Daehwi knows that, but he just agreed because he pities how defenseless Daehwi looks. He reaches out to his drawer and takes out a box full of chocolates his mom sent him as an advanced Christmas gift and gave Daehwi some to calm him down. He looks like he’s ready to explode any moment.

 

None of them took the initiative to speak first. Daehwi silently munches on the chocolate he gave him, still avoiding his eyes. Kuanlin, on the other hand, used the time Daehwi is occupied to rack his brain for an answer to both Daehwi and Seonho’s question. Does he like Jihoon? He does, but romantically? That, he doesn’t know. Maybe he does, and he is just still in denial, but so is Daehwi. The only difference is that Daehwi knows for himself that he does like Jinyoung for sure while Kuanlin still tries to convince himself that he was only  _ curious  _ and not because he actually likes Jihoon.

 

“We are on the same page then?” Daehwi suddenly breaks the long silence with an almost inaudible whisper.

 

Kuanlin doesn’t want to say to say yes but he doesn’t want to say no either. It was then Daehwi’s turn to study Kuanlin’s expression in search for any answer. Confusion was all over Kuanlin’s face, Daehwi noted and he claims that they feel the same. He stuffs the last piece of chocolate in his mouth and then carefully folds the wrapper before putting it inside his pocket. He stands up, ready to leave and gives Kuanlin a smile.

 

“You’re still unsure, aren’t you? It took me quite a while to realize my feelings for him too so don’t worry, I’m not going to press more about the topic until you’re ready to tell me.” Daehwi heads to the door, excusing himself. “And Kuanlin, can you keep that a secret? I only told two people, that’s you and Woojin so be grateful I trust you.”

 

Kuanlin nods with a smile, waiting for Daehwi to leave the room before turning his attention back to his parchment.

 

“Jinyoung told me Jihoon regularly goes to the kitchen but for an unknown reason, he goes only on Friday nights now.  I think you might know why.” There it is, Daehwi’s malicious tone.

 

“And you’re telling me this because?”

 

“Today is Friday.” With that, Daehwi gives him a smirk and closed the door gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM BACKKK. I was never gone, I just didn't have any motivation to write. :( This long chapter only unfolds a few information before we go back to the main plot. Unbeta-ed, probably very redundant and dry, but I want to be as straight-forward as possible. I don't know how to sugarcoat things, I'm sorry! :(
> 
> Note: My beta is on a vacation, I thought of posting this once she gets back but that may take a week long. I will edit again next time! :D If there's anything you want clarification with (since I wrote this in one go so I might've missed some details), ask me on the comments. Thank you! :)


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